Natural Selection
by Preddlebunny
Summary: Six survives on Reach and is left to fend for herself on the marooned planet, but once she find out Carter is alive and being held captive she'll do anything including get herself killed to set him free, and maybe stop the glassing of the planet Reach.
1. Another time

I watched as the ship faded away into the sky safely, until the blue fire of it's thrusters disappeared into the blackness of space and for the first time in a while I sighed. It was done. My mission was complete. The AI was safely aboard, and eventually the AI will be the savior of Earth and her colonies.

I grasped the few dogtags I was able to retrieve from my team members. One from Jorge, Kat, Emile and Carter. My heart weighted heavy with the loss of them. I had only known them less than a month and I had grown close to every one of them in a strange Spartan way. I had never been apart of a team. I was a lone wolf. A special force that worked undercover for the UNSC. Then as soon as I began to lose them one by one I realized why I had chosen to work alone. I couldn't get close to anyone without them dying.

I stood on the platform overlooking the ruined base. Dust and smolder littered the red air as banshees and enemy vehicles flew past, readying for the final blow. Covenant troop carriers lowered only a few hundred meters away from my position, coming to finish what they started. To kill the last Spartan of team Noble.

I clenched my fist, tucked the dog tags away, and grabbed my assault rifle from my back. _There will be another time…_

The wind was beginning to pick up, throwing up red dust in the air and making it hard for me to see my oncoming enemy. I cocked my weapon and slammed the butt of it into a jackal who was suicide enough to charge me from behind flipped the gun around in my hands. More grunts came at me from the left, I rolled and dodged their bullets easily and shot them down wasting only two bullets.

The images of noble teams last few moments together played in my mind as I mindlessly killed and slaughtered anything that dared cross me. Rage was evident in my blazing green eyes behind the HUD. I wanted them all to pay.

I needler bullet struck into my armor from behind, barely damaging me but the pain was there. Spartans were trained not to feel pain so I pushed it away. Gritting my teeth I charged at the Elite holding the weapon, aiming my rifle right between it's eyes. Eventually it came down but was soon replaced by three more. I ducked behind a collection of rubble that used to be part of a building. I reloaded, shot at a jackal ten meters away. It took a few more seconds to pin down the others I managed to see over my hiding spot. Damn they were fast fuckers!

A shadow engulfed me and I rolled just in time for a energy sword to slice through the metal where I once was. I kicked at the red clad elites joints knowing where the creature was vulnerable after nearly fifteen years of fighting them. It stumbled for a moment, long enough for the barrel of my gun to find the open spot in his armor and fire. It roared before I kicked it down and expertly readied my weapon for the next one. Two came at me this time from the gap between two boulders. I was exposed to their plasma bullets that dug into my dark red and black armor, my visor blinked in warning. I ran at them with blind fury. The creatures were massive compared to me but that's what made them clumsy. Speed and agility is the only way to beat them. The orange clad one swung it's massive arm at me when I got close enough but I ducked and hit it with a force that knocked it back a foot. I shot at it until the other came at me, it's mandibled jaws splitting like a snake threatened. I only caught a glimpse of it's red eyes before I quickly spun and stabbed the elite through it's jaws and up into it's brain with my kukri. I pushed it's body over snapped a nearby grunts neck before getting thrown a good few meters away by the other elite.

This one's helmet was knocked off so a few good shots to the head caused the frenzied elite to drop dead after I quickly regained myself, but not without suffering a few energy bullets into my left shoulder. There was pain screaming at me from all over my body and it was becoming harder to ignore it.

The battle went on for what seemed like hours but could have possibly been only minutes. I saw so much blue and green blood and even some of my own. They came at me from everywhere, my vantage was that I was quick and could find a temporary hiding spot to reload in the swirling dust. That wouldn't hold them off forever though. I was on twelve more rifle bullets and my armor shield strength was beginning to weaken. That and there were more and more of them by the second.

I was hiding behind an overturned warthog, breathing heavily, my visor was cracked causing my vision to falter. I heard roars and taunts from the elites nearby and my fury lit up like gasoline to a fire. This was the end, and they were going to pay for the destruction of this planet with at least another twenty lives. I threw my empty rifle aside and pulled out my pistol. _Might as well take a few more bastards with me. _

I emerged out from behind the wreckage with a hatred so obvious in the way I walked that for a second I saw a flash of fear in the few elites eyes. I took several bullets that were now working their way past my armor and into my flesh, blood began streaming out, but I continued. I ducked, evaded and swung at the nearest one managing to shoot it straight into the head. Sadly it only knocked off it's helmet and it just stumbled back dazed. Another elite pushed me over trying to crush my body but with whatever strength I managed to get I kicked him off. The other came at me again it's energy shield in hand. I was pinned by another pair of appendages as I waited to die. I only hoped it was quick.

**Yes I know this is short but it's just a starter chapter basically. Anyway I've been on a Halo hype for a while lately so decided to write a story of how Six survives and get's off the planet. If she does .**

I remember very little of what happened before I was about to die. I had my eyes closed, face calm. Every Spartan dies it's what we were born to do. I don't believe I've ever known a Spartan to live to retire. It was my time. I've done my duty.

But I didn't die. Something exploded far to the left of me. It shook the ground in a series of tremors that carried through my aching bones. My brain rattled and the ground beneath me split open. I fell in darkness for the longest of times before hitting something hard with full force. Dirt fell all around me, in my mouth and on my skin. I tried to speak for god knows what reason but instead I fell into a darkness that would consume me for the next few hours.


	2. Miracle

I remember very little of what happened before I was about to die. I had my eyes closed, face calm. Every Spartan dies it's what we were born to do. I don't believe I've ever known a Spartan to live to retire. It was my time. I've done my duty.

But I didn't die. Something exploded far to the left of me. It shook the ground in a series of tremors that carried through my aching bones. My brain rattled and the ground beneath me split open. I fell in darkness for the longest of times before hitting something hard with full force. Dirt fell all around me, in my mouth and on my skin. I tried to speak for god knows what reason but instead I fell into a darkness that would consume me for the next few hours.

(OOOOOOO)

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"_Lieutenant". _

_I nearly dropped the rifle I had loosely gripped in my palms when my commanders voice echoed at the doorway. Quickly I regained myself, obviously embarrassed as a touch of red came to my cheeks. I hated being caught off guard. _

"_And they say Spartans aren't afraid of anything", Carter chuckled. It was one out of two times I've ever seen him smile. He was wearing the under mesh we wore beneath our Spartan armor while it was getting repaired for the 'uppercut' plan we were going to initiate once the central command confirms with Noble actual. In the mean time we were given a day to relax and rest until tomorrow at the least, and despite being rid of his armor he was still as huge and imposing as when he would have it on. In the red lighting of the room I saw the shadows and crevices of his face that showed just how hard the past few years had been for this Spartan. _

"_Sorry sir, I wasn't afraid I was caught off guard", I quickly retaliated. I was about to stand attention but he gestured for me to sit back down. _

"_No need for all that stiffness Six, we're off duty for the time being". He looked down at the multiple guns I had laying around the benches. "I expected you to be in the bunks especially how you pulled that last task off". _

_I looked down at the marksman rifle in my hands and continued cleaning it, "I don't sleep sir". _

_A small smile crept on his face, "that makes two of us", he sat down on the opposite bench of me and grabbed a shotgun off the racks and began cleaning it too. After a few moments of silence I caught his eyes looking up at me every now and then. It was hard to miss them despite the light blue aura that glowed against the dim lighting. It made me wonder how much of it is natural and how much of it was from augmentation. Nonetheless I would find myself staring into those depths wondering what secrets they harbored. Not that I expected him to reveal any to me I had enough secrets of my own to fill this room._

"_It's odd you know", he shifted the gun in his palms without looking up. _

"_What sir?" _

"_Finally seeing your face lieutenant. You never really know someone until you look into their eyes". The dim, red lights blinked faintly and slowly giving his face a sad appearance. _

"_Not what you expected?" _

_My commander shrugged his bulky shoulder, "it's not about what's expected Six it's about what I can read from you now Kat, Jorge, Emile and Jun I've learned to read like open tablets but you lieutenant…you're something different". _

_I stopped cleaning and gazed at him, "showing your emotions leaves gaps for your enemy to fill sir. It's what I've been taught my whole career". _

_He shook his head as if he was reminiscing about a past event, "I see a lot of Thom in you". _

_Despite myself I smiled faintly only one side of my mouth tilting upwards. _

_He leaned back comfortably, "now I know ONI has their secrets about you they want to keep but can I at least know your real name, calling you Six all the time doesn't seem right compared to the others_".

_I hesitated running my finger along my unsheathed kukri. I had never told anyone my name, hell I've almost forgotten it myself. Not long after augmentation it had not been used once_.

_I brushed a thick piece of brown hair that fell loose from my tightly wound braid and looked up, "Anna sir". _

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I woke up gasping for air and finding that what I breathed in was stale and dry. It took only a second for my muscles to gain movement and I was surprised I could still even function. My head spun with black dots like bees around a nest. Thankful nothing was broken, I stood pulling out my pistol which was still thankfully intact. I wished I still had my helmet because the night vision would have been extremely useful at the moment. My highly sensitive eyes eventually adjusted to find I had fallen into a partially buried bunker. Trashed vehicles and weapon racks laid strewn out and half the place was completely buried in rubble, and somehow half of it managed to stay intact.

I coughed up dirt that was steadily spilling from the hole way up above me. _At least for now it is…_

I grabbed a flare from a pouch around my waist and chunked it to the darkened side of the area. It revealed a hallway that led to more piles of rubble that blocked the exit, and for sure a broken down elevator. That wasn't even an option. I sighed and brushed back a dirty strand of hair.

A loud clanking sounded when my foot kicked something. _Just an air duct vent, _I thought but then I paused. I looked at the wall and saw the circular vent open and inviting me. Air vents eventually led to the surface. Thankfully it was big enough for me. One thing was for sure as I crawled around in the tight space, I didn't like being cooped up. I lit another flare in order to see, and it nearly took me an hour to find a vent that showed light behind it. Daylight to be exact.

I punched the vent out of my way and crawled to the surface. I nearly tumbled back from the sheer force of the wind. Dirt swirled in the air and the sun was beginning to set to the north. I saw covenant vehicles far on the horizon and I took cover behind a pile of collected rocks. I looked around again. They were hovering low at least a mile away and didn't seem to notice me, but I waited not wanting another brush with the unfriendlies.

It was thirty minutes later that the covenant ships decided to abandon whatever they were searching for and leave. I wondered why they hadn't glassed the planet yet and found I was thankful or else I'd be a flat sediment by now. I placed my pistol in it's holster and looked around. The place was hardly recognizable there were burnt bodies everywhere and pieces of building that had been blown to bits by the covenant ships. I shook my head.

I walked through an abandoned building that had damaged weapons and cartridges everywhere. My heavy booted feet crunched on empty shells that had been wasted on elites. I walked through several buildings looking for any type of radio or comm unit. I needed to know if the ship was safe, and if Jun was safe, the last member of Noble. I didn't know what was going to become of me. Certainly the UNSC wouldn't come back for a lonely Spartan. Not when they have other important things to handle. The AI was top priority. I sighed, at slid down the nearest wall to a sitting spot on the ground. I noticed the suns light was beginning to fade and the green aura of night was starting to settle in. Thankfully this planet had a stable climate so the temperature was around seventy degrees. Not that it really mattered my had a built in climate control anyway.

I sighed and brought out the dog tags of my fallen team members. I surveyed each and every one of them from the name to the number. I stopped at Carters. He was the first Spartan that made me feel comfortable when I joined. He was not only a leader but he was a friend. A friend I never had before. Smiling slightly I tucked them away again. I would stay alive as long as I can and maybe sabotage a few covies while I'm at it.

I clicked something on my wrist computer. "Noble Six Spartan B312's report. I'm here on planet reach. The last I saw Pillar of Autumn left the atmosphere safely that's all I know from there. I can imagine it make it safely into neutral space along with the AI aboard. I survived remarkably but the covenant are still here. I believe they're planning to glass Reach so either I get off this rock somehow or I wait until it all comes down". I clicked the entry off and stood up.

The openness of this room didn't make me feel the least bit safe as the sinking sun cast ghostly shadows across the ragged terrain. I moved and found a more closed building to rest in, making sure I knew every exit and entrance possible before laid down. I stared at the ceiling for the longest time just thinking. With my left hand on the trigger of my pistol I fell asleep for the first time in weeks.


End file.
